Hosted by E.K.Bensah Jr, a Research & Communications Specialist, the show seeks to disrupt the African Rising narrative by demystifying;unpacking; and explaining ECOWAS;African Union; South-South Cooperation policies around Africa's integration.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

ACCRA,
Sept.30 (Xinhua) -- The West African Police Information System (WAPIS)
has been inaugurated in Ghana's capital, Accra, to fight organized crime
and terrorism in the sub-region.

The WAPIS Programme’s third phase will see its implementation in all
ECOWAS member states and the development of a regional police data
sharing platform under the aegis of ECOWAS. -- INTERPOL

Experts believe one of the main challenges in
fighting transnational organized criminality is inaccurate statistics
and data on reported occurrences.

The initiative is therefore aimed at creating a
common police-information system across West Africa to share criminal
information on a timely basis.

It will also ensure greater law enforcement
cooperation within the region and the rest of the world in fighting
organized crime and terrorism.

The European Union is providing funding to the
International Criminal Police Organization for the development and
implementation of the initiative for member-countries within the region
and Mauritania.

Addressing the media, the Minister for the Interior,
Mark Owen Woyongo, said the center stemmed from the sub-regional bloc's
concern over the spate of transnational crimes and terrorism affecting
the area.

"WAPIS will enable police officers in west African
countries to access critical police information from their national
criminal databases, thus improving the identification of criminals and
supporting ongoing investigations," he said.

Woyongo said his ministry had signed a contract with
Ahui Communications Services Limited, a subsidiary of China
Communications Services International, to carry out a feasibility study
on the introduction of CCTV cameras on roads in Ghana at no cost to the
government.

He said the project would help the police maintain discipline on the roads and also reduce crime.